{"id":1986548,"date":"2026-06-12T11:00:53","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T08:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1986548"},"modified":"2026-06-12T11:00:53","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T08:00:53","slug":"meet-the-creator-turning-victor-wembanyama-vs-the-knicks-into-an-anime-spectacle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1986548","title":{"rendered":"Meet the creator turning Victor Wembanyama vs. the Knicks into an anime spectacle"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Jalen Brunson is soaring through the air, trying to destroy Victor Wembanyama. The Spurs\u2019 star punches Brunson in the face, sending him crashing to the ground. Eventually, OG Anunoby smashes Wembanyama in the face with a guitar. No flagrant foul was called, not even retroactively.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s because this isn\u2019t the NBA Finals. This is the latest episode of \u201cAttack on Wemby: Across the Knicks-Verse,\u201d the short-form anime series that has provided the most entertaining recap of the NBA Finals.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The byproduct of a leap of faith by Los Angeles native Jake Wang, the show, in Japanese with English subtitles, has turned into a popular satire of the storylines surrounding each game of the NBA Finals. It follows Wembanyama and the Spurs as characters from the renowned Japanese anime Attack on Titan<\/a> who are trying to take over New York, represented by the \u201cSpider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse\u201d movies.<\/p>\n

\n

Attack on Wemby Across the Knicks-Verse Part 1 pic.twitter.com\/HGtixkctQU<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 jylfeng (@jylfeng) June 4, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The 28-year-old Wang has spent the past few months building an artificial intelligence animation brand called Sports Multiverse Studio. After seeing Wembanyama doing a celebration from Attack on Titan in the Western Conference finals, Wang was inspired to create his own version, with Wembanyama as the titular character.<\/p>\n

\u201cI made Wemby the protagonist in my show because I think he has the talent to be a GOAT-level talent already,\u201d Wang told The Athletic.<\/em> \u201cBut he also has a drive that I think is missing in a lot of NBA players, where he goes the extra mile.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wang saw how Wembanyama did everything, from training at the Shaolin Temple in China to learning from Hakeem Olajuwon, and became fascinated. He appreciated Wembanyama\u2019s focus on the mental side of the game and found the Spurs\u2019 star to be the nuanced character to lead the show.<\/p>\n

When the Spurs posted Attack on Wemby to their X account, things took off. During the Western Conference finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder, the show featured the Salesian Sisters soaring through the air with jet packs<\/a>, a conversation with Tim Duncan on a different planet, and even Air Corgi.<\/p>\n

When the Spurs advanced to the NBA Finals, Wang shifted to a new concept: \u201cAttack on Wemby: Across the Knicks Verse.\u201d It casts the Knicks as the various Spideys trying to take down the gigantic Wembanyama, with Brunson at the helm.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cI\u2019m trying to frame it as, never take anything for granted,\u201d Wang said. \u201cAnd it helps that I\u2019m casting Jalen Brunson as Miles Morales, the underdog hero of New York.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

It proved to be a prescient decision with the Knicks up 3-1 in the series after pulling off the biggest comeback in NBA Finals history<\/a>. The show\u2019s story of the scrappy Knicks fighting from behind to take down the gargantuan Wembanyama has played out in reality.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

{“endpoint”:”https:\/\/api-prd-nyt.theathletic.com\/graphql”}<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Knicks are kicking their ass,\u201d Wang said. \u201cI\u2019m trying to frame it more in the sense of celebrating the Knicks \u2014 Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns \u2014 rather than making it about Wemby\u2019s story, because I think he had his big moment with Attack on Wemby. So, to me, this has been an interesting challenge. How do I weave this, turn the former narrative on its head and celebrate the new players who obviously are deserving of praise as possibly the next champions?\u201d<\/p>\n

The 28-year-old Wang studied film and computer science at Northwestern \u2014 film for him, computer science to make his mom happy. He promised to study something that could pay the bills if she let him also pursue his passions. After seeing the AI creation space begin to take off, he decided to quit his job at Microsoft in March to start Sports Multiverse Studio. He currently operates as a one-man band, along with his tools, but eventually hopes to grow it into something bigger. He said he\u2019s giving himself a year to make it happen.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cI figured it\u2019s a big risk,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I\u2019m not quite 30. I want to do this in my 20s, before I regret it.\u201d<\/p>\n

So far, so good. He wasn\u2019t getting much traction on X until he came up with the name \u201cAttack on Wemby.\u201d Suddenly, the videos got hundreds of thousands of views. His post of the entire Western Conference finals \u201cAttack on Wemby\u201d series has more than 5 million views on X as of Friday, and he\u2019s garnered almost 24 million views on his company\u2019s Instagram account<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n

Attack on Wemby FULL SERIES pic.twitter.com\/L9M0HJ3npZ<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 jylfeng (@jylfeng) June 2, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Wang uses a series of AI tools to complete each episode. He starts by storyboarding in ChatGPT, uses Topview AI and Artcraft animate, then edits and scores the show manually. He spends around four hours after games piecing together the big moments on the floor, as well as stories branching off it, like the Salesian Sisters, to find everything that has caught the public\u2019s imagination.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

He will then build character sheets when a new character is introduced, develop his script, and then spend around six hours building out the videos through his AI tools. After about three hours of editing, the episode is ready to upload to X, Instagram and YouTube.<\/p>\n

Wang, who was speaking from a trip to visit family in Hangzhou, China, says that views on AI in China are different from those in the US. To him, the Chinese perspective on AI is that it\u2019s a tool for storytellers to quickly execute their ideas.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know AI is very controversial in America at the moment,\u201d Wang said. \u201cI think the way I approach it is, I don\u2019t really consider myself an artist. Obviously, I do not have the drawing or the artistic abilities to animate these by hand. I\u2019ll give full credit to the animators in both the West and East for that. I come up with a script, I come up with the idea and, because I\u2019m a single-person team at the moment, I use AI as a tool to help me bring that to life.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s how I see things, where I\u2019ll consider myself a creator, but I wouldn\u2019t call myself an artist.\u201d<\/p>\n

The process allows him to turn around riveting episodes within a day of the games, when the moment is still fresh. The style harkens back to the acclaimed Bleacher Report series \u201cGame of Zones\u201d by Adam and Craig Malamut, which satirized the NBA\u2019s countless dramatic storylines. The web series was a must-watch for fans and people within NBA circles. Animation is incredibly time-intensive, though, and the show\u2019s attention to detail was exceptional, so episodes dropped weeks to months after the events took place.<\/p>\n

\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n Jake Wang was inspired by Victor Wembanyama\u2019s talent. (Courtesy of Jake Wang)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Wang\u2019s advantage is that he has been able to make his concepts a reality quickly enough for them to capture the moment while it\u2019s still alive.<\/p>\n

\u201cI overall think (AI) is a positive thing, as long as you pay respect to the original animators and artists, of course,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Wang may only have one episode left this season, as the Spurs will fight for their lives in Game 5 on Saturday. It will either be Wembanyama\u2019s chance to prove he is the titan, or the Knicks\u2019 final message that they rule the NBA.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think this will be his moment where everyone needs a big loss, whether it\u2019s in sports, or in TV shows, or anime. So, I think this can be his moment,\u201d Wang said. \u201cI\u2019m assuming he\u2019s going to lose. Sorry, no offense. I think this will be his wake-up call moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

The season finale may finally arrive after Game 5. Whatever happens, the Knicks Verse will be waiting.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jalen Brunson is soaring through the air, trying to destroy Victor Wembanyama. The Spurs\u2019 star punches Brunson in the face, sending him crashing to the ground. Eventually, OG Anunoby smashes Wembanyama in the face with a guitar. No flagrant foul was called, not even retroactively. That\u2019s because this isn\u2019t the NBA Finals. This is the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,241],"class_list":["post-1986548","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-nytimes-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1986548","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1986548"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1986548\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1986548"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1986548"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1986548"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}